1. Field
The presently disclosed subject matter relates to a solid state camera, and a sensor system comprising the same, which can be used whenever moving objects are detected in or near a vehicle, a robot and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional method for detecting movement (a direction and a speed) of an object that is moving (hereinafter referred to as the “moving object”) is disclosed, for example, in patent document No. 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid Open JP2003-67752), patent document No. 2 (Japanese Patent Application Laid Open JP2002-314989) and etc. The disclosed conventional method is: photographing the moving object by means of a CCD camera and the like; storing serial image data of the moving object in a memory; carrying out a pattern matching between a present image datum and a previous image datum by an operating circuit; and detecting the movement of the moving object by evaluating the pattern matching results.
A conventional method for measuring a distance from an object such as the above-described moving object is also disclosed, for example, in patent document No. 3 (Japanese Patent Application Laid Open JP2005-182137), patent document No. 4 (Japanese Patent Application Laid Open JP2000-75030) and etc. The disclosed conventional method is: emitting lights using EHF (extremely high frequency) radar, a laser radar, etc., towards an object; detecting the reflective light reflected from the object; and calculating the distance by measuring a time from emitting the light to detecting the reflective light.
In the conventional methods described above, when detecting both the movement of the moving object and the distance from it, both an apparatus for detecting the movement and an apparatus for detecting the distance are respectively required. Thus, the conventional methods may result in some problems such as a size maximization of the apparatus, high cost, etc.
In addition, when the laser radar is used for detecting the distance, the laser is required to scan. A configuration that may be necessary to allow the laser to scan may further result in complicating the apparatus. The following conventional art documents described above provide a general background in the relevant art for the presently disclosed subject matter:    1. Patent document No. 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid Open JP2003-67752    2. Patent document No. 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid Open JP2002-314989    3. Patent document No. 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid Open JP2005-182137    4. Patent document No. 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid Open JP2000-75030
The disclosed subject matter has been devised to consider the above and other problems and characteristics. Thus, an embodiment of the disclosed subject matter can include a solid state camera for detecting both the movement of the moving object and the distance from it, and can realize a simple configuration with a low cost. The solid state camera can further include a receiver for an optical communication. Another embodiment of the disclosed subject matter can include a sensor system using the above described solid state camera. The sensor system can detect both a movement of the moving object and a distance from it, and can also realize an optical communication with a low cost for use in a vehicle, a robot, security system and the like.